Thermal divider system for insulated container

ABSTRACT

A thermal divider system for an insulated container is provided for thermal regulation and defining a plurality of sub compartments for the insulated container. The thermal divider system includes a rigid insert formed of a thermal (hot/cold) material. The rigid insert is engageable with at least one slot defined on an interior sidewall of the insulated container to avoid shifting of food product contents and other thermally sensitive materials carried in the insulated container. In some embodiments, the rigid insert includes a freezable divider panel that preserves cold temperatures inside a recreational cooler. Other embodiments may include a heat retaining pack that preserves warm temperatures within the insulated container. The invention here eliminates the use of ice and free moving cold packs to keep recreational coolers at cold temperatures. The system may be provided to adapt an insulated container with a removable sidewall carrying the at least one slot.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/963,355, filed Jan. 20, 2020, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to insulated containers, such as recreational ice chests and coolers, and more particularly to thermal regulation of an interior cavity of an insulated container.

The temperature in a standard recreational cooler used to store food, beverages or other contents is often maintained using ice that is spread or placed on top of the cooler contents. As such, the food product contents are no longer visible upon inspection and require shifting of ice to find the food product contents. Further, as the ice melts, the food product contents may become wet or soggy and be rendered unusable. Likewise, Cold packs move about freely in the cooler and could result in crushed/unusable or shifted contents in the cooler. Lastly ice is the solid form of water, which could be a restricted commodity in geographical areas that are either arid or in drought conditions.

As can be seen, there is a need for an improved thermal dividers to supplant the use of ice and eliminate free moving cold packs to keep recreational coolers at cold temperatures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a thermal divider system for an insulated container, is disclosed. The thermal divider system includes a removable sidewall dimensioned to be fitted to opposed interior sidewalls of the insulated container. The removable sidewall has a plurality of ridges protruding towards an interior cavity of the insulated container when installed in the insulated container. The plurality of ridges define at least one upright slot at opposed sides of the interior cavity. A rigid insert has a first end and a second end. Each of the first end and the second end have a width dimensioned to be received within the at least one upright slot and a length to extend between the opposed sides of the interior cavity. The rigid insert having a hollow interior to contain a volume of a thermal material.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a thermal divider system, shown in use with an insulated container 18;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the thermal divider system;

FIG. 3 is a section view of the thermal divider system, taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section view of the invention, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the thermal divider system;

FIG. 6 is a section view of the second embodiment, taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the thermal divider system;

FIG. 8 is a section view of the third embodiment, taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the thermal divider system; and

FIG. 10 is a section view of the fourth embodiment, taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention.

Broadly, embodiments of the present invention provides a system, method, and apparatus for adapting an insulated container to provide thermal divider elements for heating or cooling an interior cavity of an insulated container. The thermal divider elements are engage able with an interior sidewall insert for the insulated container to define a plurality of sub-compartments.

As seen in reference to the drawings of FIGS. 1-10, representative embodiments of thermal divider system for an insulated container 18 are shown. The thermal divider system includes a rigid insert 14 formed of a thermal sink material 16 that retains cold and or heat, depending upon the required application for storing food products or other thermally sensitive products within an insulated container 18.

By way of non-limiting example, the rigid insert 14 may be formed having a rigid shell containing of a freezable liquid material 16 within a hollow interior that provides a source of cooling for the interior cavity 20 of the insulated container 18. Ends of the rigid insert 14 are configured to interlock with at least one upright slot 12 or grooves defined in a removable sidewall 10 that are dimensioned to be received within the insulated container 18. Insertion of the rigid insert 14 forms a plurality of chilled partition compartments within the interior cavity 20 of the insulated container 18. The unit forms an environmentally-conscious product as it reduces the use of water, keeps cooler contents dry and visible, and maintains a temperature that is cooler or colder (or warmer) than the surrounding environment. The rigid insert 14 and the removable sidewall 10 can be customizable to a variety of insulated containers 18 to hold various types of contents securely.

Prior to this invention, the typical way of maintaining a cold temperature in an insulated container 18 was to either use ice or free moving cold packs. The thermal divider system of the present invention renders ice or free-moving cold packs unnecessary, as it can maintain a temperature cooler or colder than the surrounding environment while keeping the contents visible, dry, and secure in the insulated container 18. The present invention eliminates the use of ice and free moving cold packs to keep recreational coolers at cold temperatures, without a crush hazard from unconstrained thermal packs. Furthermore, the cooler requires less clean up after use and the invention is reusable.

The rigid insert 14 is received in the at least one upright slot 12 defined in the removable sidewall 10 dimensioned to be received within the insulated container 18. The thermal material 16, which may be freezable substance, is added to the hollow rigid insert 14 to form a cooled divider wall within the interior cavity 20. The rigid insert 14 is configured to slide down into the at least one upright slot 12 of the removable sidewall 10.

The removable sidewall 10 is sized and cut to fully fit the interior wall dimensions (length, width and height) of commercially-available insulated container 18. The removable sidewall 10 may be affixed using an adhesive or engagement slots. The removeable sidewall 10 may be molded such that it forms a solid sheet that has flat outer face and an inner face with a plurality ridges defining the at least one upright slot 12 in a spaced apart relation along longitudinal length of the removable sidewall 10. Preferably the ridges extend about an inch or less into the interior cavity 20 of the insulated container 18.

The rigid insert 14 may be formed of a plastic or another material, can be molded to have a hollow interior that can either be pre-filled with the thermal material 16 such as a cooling material (e.g., cold gel) or a heat able material and then sealed. Alternatively, the rigid insert 14 may be provided in an empty condition and can be filled with water, sealed, and frozen for use when needed. In a first embodiment the rigid insert 14 has a substantially uniform thickness such that the ends fit within the at least one upright slot 12.

In a second embodiment, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an increased thermal capacity can be provided to the rigid insert 14. In the second embodiment, the ends of the rigid insert 14 are still dimensioned to fit within the at least one upright slot 12. A body of the rigid insert 14 has a width that is greater than the ends of the rigid insert 14. The body of the rigid insert 14 is able to contain a greater volume of thermal material 16.

In a third embodiment, shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the ends of the rigid insert 14 are still dimensioned to be received within the at least one upright slot 12. In this instance, a channel 28 is defined between the slot engaging ends. The channel 28 has a depth to receive the ridge protruding from the inner face of the removable sidewall 10.

In a fourth embodiment, shown in reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the rigid insert 14 includes a plurality of protrusions 30 extending from at least one lateral side of the rigid insert 14. The plurality of protrusions 30 define at least one upright groove 32. The upright groove 32 is configured to receive ends of a sub insert 34 for further subdividing the interior cavity 20 of the insulated container 18.

The present invention may be within an insulated container 18 or may be provided as a retrofit to an existing insulated container 18. as If adding the present invention to an existing recreational cooler, the user selects the proper removable sidewalls 10 and rigid insert 14 for the dimensions of their insulated container 18.

Wall structures could be purchased either pre-filled with thermal material or hollow to be filled with water when needed. When the user arrives at the proper size, the inserts are affixed, using an adhesive, to two opposing walls with ridges inward toward the middle of the cooler. For rectangular coolers, the walls that are longer in length should be utilized.

In the case of a cooling rigid insert 14, once the thermal material has been adequately frozen in a freezing unit (e.g., a freezer), the user can take the rigid insert 14 and slide them it into at least one slot 12 to define a sub-compartment of the desired dimensions. The user can insert as many rigid inserts as required and once completed, the cooler should contain interior cooling partitions and is rendered ready to add desired items to the insulated container 18.

The present invention could be scaled up or down in size to create partitioned refrigerated/warming sub-compartments that can be customized to suit a need. Such systems that could benefit include walk-in refrigerators, refrigeration rooms, refrigerated vehicles, or other structures that require temperatures to be maintained without the use of ice. This invention could also be used to create cooled sections of a structure while other sections are maintained at a different temperature (e.g., one room in a whole building).

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A thermal divider system for an insulated container, comprising: a removable sidewall dimensioned to be fitted to opposed interior sidewalls of the insulated container, the removable sidewall having a plurality of ridges protruding towards an interior cavity of the insulated container when installed in the insulated container, the plurality of ridges defining at least one upright slot at opposed sides of the interior cavity; and a rigid insert having a first end and a second end, each of the first end and the second end having a width dimensioned to be received within the at least one upright slot, and a length to extend between the opposed sides of the interior cavity, the rigid insert having a hollow interior to contain a volume of a thermal material.
 2. The thermal divider system of claim 1, further comprising: a fill port opening to the hollow interior.
 3. The thermal divider system of claim 2, further comprising: a seal attached to the fill port to contain the volume of the thermal material within the hollow interior.
 4. The thermal divider system of claim 1, further comprises: the volume of the thermal material.
 5. The thermal divider system of claim 4, wherein the thermal material includes a cold composition.
 6. The thermal divider system of claim 4, wherein the thermal material includes a heat composition.
 7. The thermal divider system of claim 1, wherein the rigid insert has a uniform width corresponding to a width of the at least one slot.
 8. The thermal divider system of claim 1, wherein the rigid insert has an intermediate section having a width greater than a width of the at least one slot.
 9. The thermal divider system of claim 1, wherein the first end and the second end each have a channel defied therein, the channel having a width to receive one of the plurality of ridges therein.
 10. The thermal divider system of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of protrusions extending from at least one lateral side of the rigid insert, the plurality of protrusions define at least one upright groove in the at least one lateral side of the rigid insert.
 11. The thermal divider system of claim 10, further comprising: a sub-insert dimensioned to be received in the at least one upright groove for further subdividing the interior cavity of the insulated container. 